Processing facilities are typically managed using process control systems. Among other functions, these control systems often manage the use of motors, catalytic crackers, valves, and other industrial equipment in the processing facilities. Example processing facilities include manufacturing plants, chemical plants, crude oil refineries, and ore processing plants. In these facilities, the industrial equipment typically performs actions needed to process materials in the processing facilities.
In conventional process control systems, various controllers are used to control the operation of the motors and other industrial equipment in the processing facilities. The controllers could, for example, monitor the operation of the industrial equipment, provide control signals to the industrial equipment, and generate alarms when the industrial equipment malfunctions. Conventional controllers typically lack a simple and easily accessible user interface to allow users to interact with the conventional controllers. Moreover, executing a program to provide a user interface could interfere with the other operations performed by the conventional controllers, such as when the execution of the user interface program interferes with the execution of real-time control applications.